I stood at the foot of the staircase, watching them laugh and jostle their way up, feeling like a stranger in my own home.
He'd promised me once. The bedroom was our little world, just the two of us. He would never let anyone else set foot inside.
Now Eleanor was the exception.
When I confronted him about it afterward, he waved it off. "Ellie isn't an outsider. She's like a sister to me. That's all."
In that moment, it was as if I'd never known him at all. So he could play these hollow word games with me too.
When it came to matters of the heart, I'd always been too easily swayed. A few soft words from Paul and I let it go.
It wasn't until after that night that I found out what Eleanor had done in our bedroom: she'd punctured every single condom we had.
I'd found out I was pregnant just yesterday morning. Figured I'd make peace with it and tell Paul that evening.
By the afternoon, a dull ache had settled low in my belly. I called Paul, but he never picked up.
It wasn't until Eleanor sent me a photo that I realized where he'd been. He'd thrown a party for her.
Paul caught the shift in my focus, and a flicker of guilt crossed his face.